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How to renew mouldy bathroom vanity?

Hello everyone. I have bought a house but I have discovered that the bathroom vanity is mouldy.

Have not got a lot of money to do the reno. I feel that the benchtop and the frame is fine but the shelves inside is cracked and swollen. The cabinet doors are not aligned as well.

Just looking for some suggestions and ideas to make it look better. WhatsApp Image 2026-01-07 at 7.38.23 PM.jpeg

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JacobZ

Hi @Arsh,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is wonderful to have you with us.

It looks like you've already put some work in removing the mould from inside the cabinet. This is a great place to start, as it will give you a good idea of what is just dirty and what has bigger issues.

Have you got any photos of the cracked and swollen shelves that you've mentioned?

Depending on the severity of the damage, you might be able to cover it with something like furniture film or paint. If the damage is more severe, you may need to look at replacing the shelves with new White Standard Particleboard.

The drawer bases look to be a thin sheet of MDF, usually around 3mm thick. These can be replaced relatively easily with a new piece of 3mm White Standard Backing Board. You would just need to cut them to size and fit them into the grooves in the drawer frame.

Can you see how the frame of the drawers is held together? I notice that one of them has opened up at the corner, so you would need to look at fixing it back in place once you've replaced the drawer bottoms. If there's nothing obvious, a couple of chipboard screws through the join or some small angle brackets would be a simple solution.

With the misaligned doors, I'd have to see what the misalignment is like and have a look at the hinges to be sure of the best approach. Cabinet hinges have adjustment screws that allow you to align the doors with the cabinet and each other, so it may just be a case of adjusting the screws to align the doors better. If you can grab some photos of the hinges and a photo of the closed doors, I would be happy to assist with this.

To give the timber look finish a bit more lustre, you could also give it a good clean with a general surface cleaner or warm soapy water, allow it to dry, then give it a shine with some Glitz Beeswax Polish. This type of polish is typically used on timber furniture and surfaces, but it would still help to brighten things up a little bit.

I hope this gives you some ideas that you can put into action, and I am happy to assist further with those more specific issues once you get back to us.

Jacob

AlanM52

Hi @Arsh,

That is a substantial amount of mould growth and I am wondering what may be the underlying cause to create that amount of moisture.

Screenshot 2026-01-09 140242.jpg

The effected cabinet is well away from the basin plumbing... or is it?

Circled - looks like basin tap plumbing was extended (interior wall) around and into that area of the kitchen carcass.

Very likely there is water leak right there inside because the left side of the cabinet appears to be the most effected.

At this point I would be poking my endoscope inspection camera into the cabinet plumbing hole to have a look see.

I'll leave it at that for now and wait for responses to come in...

Cheers

Arsh

Thank You Alan

I took my pictures to further explain.

I reckon the previous owners have addressed the leak, hence all the weird pipework.

I am wondering if its possible to keep the frame but change the shelves and new cabinet drawers.These ones dont stop, they just come out completely.

Can you please assist me how to make a plan for this?

WhatsApp Image 2026-01-09 at 10.22.08 PM.jpeg

Arsh

Thanks @JacobZ for your response.

I have taken few more pictures to explain whats happening.

Its very oddly shaped vanity and the work done underneath seem to be carried by an amateur.

1) I want to replace the mouldy drawers.

2) I want the cabinet door to shut properly, some magnetic pull may be.

3) I want the vanity to look fresh and modern.

Can you please help me achieve this ?

WhatsApp Image 2026-01-09 at 10.22.08 PM.jpeg

AlanM52

@Arsh,

Yes I can help you but at this stage would prefer to pass you onto the team guys (@JacobZ) because they have a wealth of knowledge about what's available in what sizes and likely off-the-shelf things like the kitchen drawers.

I will hang around to see how things work out...

Cheers

JacobZ

Hi @Arsh,

Thank you for the additional photos. They certainly help, and there is quite a bit to unpack.

You can replace the drawer bases, as I mentioned earlier and then refix the frames so that they are solid again. You can then remove and replace the existing drawer runners with suitably sized drawer slides, which would not allow them to pull the whole way out without intending to.

For the doors, you can use magnetic catches to help them stay closed, or there are options for self-closing cabinet hinges, we would just have to look at how each door interacts with the frame to ensure they are compatible.

To modernise the look, you can paint the vanity using the Dulux Renovations Range paint system, which is often used to give old cabinetry a bright new look.

The internal shelf would be the toughest part because you would need to have the pipe disconnected and reinstalled through it. If you could leave it as is, you could always give it a coat of paint or apply a furniture film over the top to make it look a bit nicer.

Hopefully, this gives you a few ideas we can work on.

Jacob

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